I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 23, 2024] “Anaheim”

This year my wife ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my seventh time reading the Calendar–it’s a holiday tradition!  Here’s what H&O says about the calendar this year.

Ten years of stories! Yikes, where does the time go?
When the first Short Story Advent Calendar launched, in 2015, we frankly had no clue we’d still be sitting here today, continuing to offer up batches of tasty stories fresh from the oven. To celebrate this milestone, we’ve packed the 10th SSAC with a mix of new and familiar names—ideal company for those chilly winter nights ahead.

The author of this story was Jennifer Croft.  Each day has an online component with the author with a brief interview.  Although today doesn’t have an interview just this blurb:

It’s December 23. Jennifer Croft, author of The Extinction of Irena Ray, has not prepared an acceptance speech.

I was concerned that I wouldn’t like this story.  It was longer than others and it started kind of slow, with a main character who was unsatisfied with things.  Ho hum.

But the character, Alex, is a translator and that made the story somewhat more interesting.  Alex is about to give up the profession and then he wins the Simpson Calibre Prize.  He thinks of frankly stupid ways to spend the money, including getting a hotel room in Disney but not actually going to into the park (in some misguided solidarity with his now deceased brother).

It also turns out to be a mini COVID story with Disney being about to close.

And all of that was kind of annoying.  Until someone knocked on his door.  It was a little boy, who speaks Spanish (good thing the main character is a translator).  He is in a panic because his mother needs help.

I’m not sure if the Spanish dialogue tells what’s happening (I didn’t bother trying to translate for myself), but we see the Mother bloody in a bathtub.  It turns out that she is going into labor.  The main character winds up taking the boy to Disney while his mother goes to the hospital.

The most compelling part of the story is that he has two cats and he has asked the local bartender to look after them while he is gone.